Sorting sticks for lollipops

ABSTRACT

An assembly and method for distributing lollipop sticks (9) from a common supply (5) to a plurality of stick holders (14), the assembly comprising an elongated conveyor chamber (3) for containing lollipop sticks as they are conveyed from the common supply to the stick holders, a plurality of stick holding channels, (14) spaced apart and leading from the base of the chamber, the conveyor chamber containing basal surfaces (11), (13) operative to move in each of two substantially opposite directions, and in use the base supporting a plurality of lollipop sticks, the basal surfaces comprising a first basal surface portion (11) and a second basal surface portion (13), the first basal surface portion (11) being obstructive to sticks in contact with the first basal surface portion as said first basal surface portion moves in a first direction away from the common supply (5), and the second basal surface portion (13) being relatively less obstructive to sticks in contact with said second basal surface portion (13) when said second basal surface portion is moved in a second direction towards the common supply, the arrangement of the assembly being such that the basal surface portions are alternately moved in the first and second directions and sticks in contact with the first basal surface portion (11) are displaced in the first direction. Advantageously, the sticks are displaced predominantly in one direction, the first direction, in a common hopper so as to feed a plurality of lollipop stick holders positioned at spaced positions along the hopper base.

[0001] The present invention relates to the manufacture of lollipops,that is to say to candies or sweetmeats made of sugar confectionery withfruit or other flavouring or fillings, (hereinafter referred to as‘sugar confectionery’), mounted on sticks.

[0002] The present invention more particularly relates to apparatus forfeeding lollipop sticks to a plurality of stick holders from which thesticks may subsequently be transferred to a lollipop moulding station.

[0003] The term ‘stick’ is used herein to denote any elongate handle fora lollipop. A stick may be of wood lengths of polymer extrusion orrolled paper, for example.

[0004] We are aware that in patent specification GB 2219725 of APVCorporation Limited, FIG. 3 thereof, a common hopper is employed tosupply lollipop sticks to stick holding chambers defined in therelatively stationary base plate of the hopper, and an anti-jammingstructure in the form of a grid comprising laterally-spaced bars ofequilateral triangular cross-section is reciprocably mounted over thebase.

[0005] The present invention is concerned with the problem of employinga common hopper to feed a plurality of lollipop stick holders, some ofwhich may be positioned further from the hopper base than other stickholders. The invention is concerned with the provision of a conveyorchamber and mechanism for causing lollipop sticks to be conveyed alongthe conveying chamber to various stick holders.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the invention we provide anassembly for distributing lollipop sticks from a common supply to aplurality of stick holders, the assembly comprising an elongate conveyorchamber for containing lollipop sticks as they are conveyed to the stickfeeder locations, a plurality of stick holding channels spaced apart andleading from the base of the chamber, the conveyor chamber containingbasal surfaces operative to move in each of two substantially oppositedirections, and in use the base supporting a plurality of lollipopsticks, the basal surfaces comprising a first basal surface portion anda second basal surface portion, the first basal surface portion beingobstructive to sticks in contact with the first basal surface portion assaid first basal surface portion moves in a first direction away fromthe common supply, and the second basal surface portion being relativelyless obstructive to sticks in contact with said second basal surfaceportion when said second basal surface portion is moved in a seconddirection, the arrangement of the assembly being such that the basalsurface portions are alternately moved in the first and seconddirections and sticks in contact with the first basal surface portionare displaced in the first direction.

[0007] Advantageously the sticks are displaced predominantly in onedirection, the first direction, along the base thanks to the greaterobstruction caused by the first basal surface portion as compared to thesecond basal surface portion.

[0008] In one embodiment the entire base of the conveyor chamberreciprocates, said stick holding channels being defined in thereciprocable base.

[0009] In another embodiment the stick holding channels are defined in arelatively stationary base plate, and said first and second basalsurfaces are provided on a ladder framework which is reciprocablysupported above the base plate.

[0010] Preferably the first and second basal surface portions extendlaterally across the base.

[0011] The first basal surface portion may be substantially vertical andthe second basal surface portion may be sloped.

[0012] The first surface portion is preferably proximal to the secondsurface portion, and said surface portions forming a saw-tooth profile.

[0013] The assembly preferably comprises a plurality of laterally spacedfirst surface portions and a plurality of laterally spaced secondsurface portions.

[0014] The base preferably comprises a plurality of laterally spacedupstanding formations, an upper section of each of the formations beingprovided with a first surface portion and a second surface portion.

[0015] The alternating movement of the basal surface portions acts todrive the sticks generally away from the end of the chamber at which thesticks enter and along the base. Feeding the sticks into the chamberfrom one end advantageously simplifies the feeding procedure as comparedto having to ensure that slicks are deposited along the length of thebase for the multiple stick-holding channels.

[0016] On a particularly wide lollipop moulding facility, more than onesuch lollipop distributing assembly may be employed.

[0017] Two such assemblies could be provided, the respective commonsupplies preferably being positioned adjacent to opposite margins of themoulding lines.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the invention there is providedan assembly which comprises a chamber for holding lollipop sticks, abase provided with a plurality of stick holding channels, the base beingoperative to move in either one of two substantially oppositedirections, and in use the base supporting a plurality of lollipopsticks and the base further comprising a first surface portion and asecond surface portion, the first surface portion being obstructive tosticks in contact with the first surface portion as said first surfaceportion moves in a first direction, and the second surface portion beingrelatively less obstructive to sticks in contact with said secondsurface portion when said second surface portion is moved in a seconddirection, and the arrangement being such that the base is alternatelymoved in the first and second directions and sticks in contact with thefirst surface portion are displaced in the first direction.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided amethod of conveying lollipop sticks into stick-holding channels providedalong the base of an assembly in accordance with the first aspect of theinvention, the method comprising feeding sticks into the chamber from aposition which is located towards one end of the chamber and, causingthe basal surface portions to reciprocate so as to urge sticks away fromthat end of the chamber and along the chamber.

[0020] Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, byway of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a partial view in perspective of an assembly inaccordance with the invention,

[0022]FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation of the assembly shown in FIG.1,

[0023]FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the base of the assembly shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 with a plurality of lollipop sticks supported thereon,

[0024]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modification in which baseof the conveyor chamber is defined in part by a reciprocating ladderframe, and

[0025]FIG. 5 is a partial schematic longitudinal cross section of theassembly of FIG. 4.

[0026] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 there is shown an assembly 1 forholding lollipop sticks 9 for subsequent transfer to a lollipop mouldingstations (not shown).

[0027] The assembly 1 comprises an elongate lollipop conveyor chamber 3,a base 7 which is capable of reciprocal movement in the chamber 3 and ahopper 5 which allows sticks to be fed into the chamber 3.

[0028] The hopper 5 comprises four walls in an oblong-rectangulararrangement which define a space which leads to an inlet 6 of thechamber 3.

[0029] The chamber 3, which is below the hopper 5, is defined by twoside walls 20, two end walls, one of which is shown in FIG. 1 and withthe reference numeral 18, and a removable roof 24. For ease ofillustration only part of the chamber 3 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0030] The base 7 is a structure of generally elongate form having awidth approximately equal to the length of the sticks 9 and comprising aplurality of laterally spaced formations 10 and a formation 12 providedtowards one end of the base 7.

[0031] Each formation 10 comprises two substantially vertical sides 8, avertical basal surface portion 11, and an upper inclined basal surfaceportion 13. The orientation of the inclined surface portion 13 is suchas to slope downwards in direction towards the end wall 18.

[0032] Between adjacent formations 10 there are defined stick-holdingchannels 14, the width of which is sufficient as to be able toaccommodate the diameter of the sticks 9. The lower ends 14′ of thestick-holding channels 14 constitute stick holders from which the sticksmay be ejected.

[0033] As is evident from FIGS. 1 to 3 the formations 10 can be said tohave a saw-tooth profile.

[0034] The formation 12 can be thought of as a plurality of theformations 10 juxtaposed, having a similar (but unspaced) saw-toothprofile.

[0035] A stick ejector arrangement 29 which is operative to urge sticksoutwards of the assembly 1 comprises a reciprocal push bar 30 whichlocates and guides push rods 31 aligned with the lower ends of therespective stick-holding channels 14 and disposed within bushes 32 heldwithin the side wall 20.

[0036] The push bar 30 is provided with overload devices in the form ofspring-loaded ball devices 33 which retain the push rods 31 within thebar 30 and release the same, should a push rod jam. This arrangementensures that one lane along conduit 8 can misfeed without causing otherlanes to misfeed as well.

[0037] The push bar 30 is reciprocable as indicated by the double-headedarrow 34, by actuator means 35, comprising, in this example, a pneumaticcylinder, although alternative actuator means such as electrical devicesmay be used.

[0038] The pneumatic cylinder 35 houses a piston 13 (not shown) having apiston rod 36 connected to the push bar 30. The piston rod 36 extendsthrough a hole 37 formed in a stationary bar 38, which forms a stop forthe push rods 31. The position of the bar 38 can be varied according tooperational requirements.

[0039] The assembly 1 and stick ejector arrangement 29 operate asfollows. Initially a box 15 of sticks is placed in the opening of thehopper 5. An opening 16 provided in a wall of the box 15 allows thesticks in the box to be dispensed into the hopper 5 under gravity. Thebox 15 then sits on the top of the hopper 5.

[0040] The sticks thus fall down through the hopper 5 to form a pile ofsticks on the base 7.

[0041] The base 7 is then caused to reciprocate back and forth in thedirections shown by the double-headed arrow 4. More specifically, as thebase 7 moves in a direction which is generally away from the end wall 18the vertical portions 11 of the saw-toothed formations of the formation12 urge in that direction in the chamber 3 sticks which are in contactwith the portions 11. Other sticks which will be moved in that directionbeing those which experience sufficient net force, either directly orindirectly, from the sticks which are in contact with the verticalportions 1, referred to as the first surface portions.

[0042] Once the base 7 has completed its maximum displacement away fromthe end 18, it is then caused to move back towards the end wall 18. Asthe base 7 moves in that reverse direction the inclined basal surfaces13, referred to as the second basal surface portions, impart a forcecomponent to those sticks which are in contact with the second surfaceportions which is in the direction of movement of the base. However, dueto the weight of sticks being fed into the chamber 3 through the hopper5, the presence of the end wall 18 and the inclination of second surfaceportions 13, the sticks in contact with said second surface portions 13will move a substantially negligible amount in that reverse direction ofmovement of the base 7. Compared to the first basal surface portions 11,the second surface portions 13 effectively present much less of anobstruction to the sticks.

[0043] The reciprocating movement of the base continues and graduallythe sticks 9 are urged along the base 7 and in so doing sticks will fallinto the stick holding channels 14.

[0044] The push rods 31 are actuated in synchronisation with thereciprocating motion of the base, ie the rods 31 are activated whenaligned with sticks in the stick-holding channels 14. The push rods 31are operative to urge the lowermost stick in each channel 14 into arespective conduit 22.

[0045] Thus an end to end train of lollipop sticks 3 is pushed throughthe conduits to a lollipop moulding station.

[0046] It will be appreciated that the flow of sticks through thechamber 3 is related to the vertical height of the chamber 3. Thus, inan alternative embodiment, there could be provided means for adjustingthe height of chamber 3 as determined by the distance between the base 7and the roof 24.

[0047]FIGS. 4 and 5 show a modification to the assembly of FIGS. 1 to 3and like parts have been given the same reference numerals.

[0048] In the assembly of FIGS. 4 and 5, the base of the conveyorchamber is formed by a relatively stationary base plate 7 b and a basalladder framework 7 a, which is slidably reciprocable on the base plate 7b. The stick-holding channels 14 are defined in the stationary baseplate 7 b and are, in use, fed with sticks from the hopper 5 by thereciprocating action of the ladder framework 7 a, the longitudinallyspaced-apart rungs of the framework 7 a providing said first and secondbasal surface portions 13 and 10 which act in the same way as thecorresponding basal surface portions in FIG. 1 to convey the stickslongitudinally of the conveyor chamber, to cause the sticks to fall intothe slots 14. The slots 14 are preferably arranged to be permanentlyuncovered by the ladder framework by arranging the stroke of theframework accordingly.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, sticks can be displaced from the respectiveholding slots 14 by respective air cylinders 40, the pistons of whichare secured to respective push rods 31, which are similar to the pushrods 31 of FIG. 1.

1. An assembly for distributing lollipop sticks (9) from a common supply(5) to a plurality of stick holders (14), the assembly comprising anelongated conveyor chamber (3) for containing lollipop sticks as theyare conveyed from the common supply to the stick holders, a plurality ofstick holding channels (14) spaced apart and leading from the base ofthe chamber, the conveyor chamber containing basal surfaces (11, 13)operative to move in each of two substantially opposite directions, andin use the base supporting a plurality of lollipop sticks, the basalsurfaces comprising a first basal surface portion (11) and a secondbasal surface portion (13), the first basal surface portion (11) beingobstructive to sticks in contact with the first basal surface portion assaid first basal surface portion moves in a first direction away fromthe common supply (5), and the second basal surface portion (13) beingrelatively less obstructive to sticks in contact with said second basalsurface portion (13) when said second basal surface portion is moved ina second direction towards the common supply, the arrangement of theassembly being such that the basal surface portions are alternatelymoved in the first and second directions and sticks in contact with thefirst basal surface portion (11) are displaced in the first direction.2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the stick holding channelsare defined in a relatively stationary base plate (7 b), and said firstand second basal surfaces are provided on a ladder framework (7 a) whichis reciprocally supported above the base plate (7 b)
 3. An assemblyaccording to claim 1, wherein the first and second basal surfaceportions (11, 13) extend laterally across the base (7; 7 a, 7 b).
 4. Anassembly according to claim 1, wherein the first basal surface portion(11) is substantially vertical and the second basal surface portion issloped (13).
 5. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein each firstbasal surface portion is proximal to a second basal surface portion,said basal surface portions (11, 13) forming a saw-tooth profile.
 6. Anassembly according to claim 1, wherein the base comprises a plurality oflaterally spaced upstanding formations (10), an upper section of each ofthe formations being provided with a first surface portion (11) and asecond surface portion (13).
 7. An assembly according to claim 6,wherein spaces between the basal formations define laterally-extendingstick-holding channels (14), which are so arranged as to reciprocate inuse with the basal surface portions.
 8. An assembly according to claim 1comprising further conveying means (22, 29) adapted to convey lollipopsticks from said stick holding channels to a lollipop molding station.9. A method of conveying lollipop sticks into stick-holding channels(14) provided in a base of an assembly according to claim 1, the methodcomprising feeding sticks into a chamber (3) from a position which islocated towards one end of the chamber and causing said basal surfaceportions (11, 13) to reciprocate so as to urge sticks away from that endof the chamber and along the base.